MPs prepare to hit the hustings

Members of Parliament are preparing to hit the election trail as they brace for the vote that is expected to topple Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority government Friday.

While the corridors of Parliament were rife with rumors that the Conservatives would make a last-ditch attempt to avoid Friday’s confidence vote or that Harper would pull the plug himself and ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, most MPs appeared to be resigned to the inevitable.

The House of Commons spent the day debating the budget Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled Tuesday, which will die on the order paper. Instead, if all goes as expected, the Conservative government will fall early Friday afternoon on the contempt of Parliament motion put forward by the Liberals.

Fireworks flew during question period, giving Canadians a taste of some of the arguments they can expect to see on the election trail. The Liberals focused on measures to help average Canadians that weren’t in the budget and on ethical scandals such as the hiring of Conservative staffers by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the growing questions around former PMO adviser Bruce Carson, his ties to the government and his activities.

The Conservatives shot back with lists of measures that Canadians won’t get if the budget doesn’t pass and repeatedly charged that the Liberals and the NDP have plans for a coalition.

NDP Leader Jack Layton questioned why the Conservatives weren’t willing to negotiate changes to their budget to stave off an election while the Bloc Québécois focused on accusing the government of not protecting the interests of Quebecers and key groups like women.

Many Conservative MPs say privately that they are confident Flaherty’s budget with its carefully targeted measures will give them more than enough ammunition to keep their seats.

For example, they expect the proposed $600 a year boost in guaranteed income supplements for the poorest seniors to be popular on the doorstep. They expect measures like the volunteer firefighter tax credit to garner votes as well.

Liberals and New Democrats acknowledged seniors will play a key role in the election, however they argue the Conservatives aren’t increasing the GIS by enough to meet the needs of seniors.

Meanwhile, 11 MPs who are leaving politics made heartfelt speeches about their time in politics, thanking their staff, their colleagues, and their voters.

Stockwell Day paid tribute to the freedom Canadian MPs have to express their beliefs.

“I thank God I can stand here and thank God and that I do not fear the fate of a dear colleague of ours only weeks ago, Shahbaz Batti who, for that crime, paid the ultimate price. I thank God that we are an assembly where people can stand up and say they do not believe in God and they can share equal ground in this place, and that others beyond this place, who write and comment can even ridicule either of those two positions and also not worry about that fate. That is the price of freedom for which our forefathers have paid a great price.”